Chapter 761: There is no perfect law in the world, everything is a matter of choice
"You must know that the failure of Legalism was also because the prince broke the law and was as guilty as the common people." Wang Chonggu first explained his point of view. He asked His Majesty to take a step back, not to save dignity for the clan, but to save dignity for the New Deal, the court, and himself. Give decency.
Many times, a lot of words are not as effective as the word "father".
Gongsun Jia and Gongzi Qian were once the teachers of Prince Yingsi, Duke Xiao of Qin. Prince Yingsi broke the law and killed people in the street. According to the new law of Shang Yang's reform, the prince's crime was the same as that of the common people. However, because Yingsi was the son of Duke Xiao of Qin, in the end his teacher Gongsun Jia and Prince Qian was punished on his behalf, and the new law was implemented.
Shang Yang's reform was not to establish prestige by moving trees to establish trust, but to make the crown prince, his master, and the people of Qin all follow his orders.
But Shang Yang didn't win either. He was finally cut into pieces by five horses. Later, even the Legalists lost and became the bone in the Confucianism and Legalism, because the Legalists' tricks really hurt the ruling class.
Therefore, the laws of the Ming Dynasty were even inferior to the laws of Qin in terms of fairness. After all, the prince committed a crime and was really punished.
Wang Chonggu has always firmly believed that the law is one of the tools of rule. When it harms the ruling class, it will be revised. He feels that it is better not to trigger this constitutional crisis.
"This matter is very troublesome." Zhang Juzheng's brows knitted into knots.
The biggest dilemma of the Ming Dynasty's law is the same as that of the Qin State for two thousand years, that is, "if the law does not work, the superiors will violate it". The law cannot be implemented smoothly. For thousands of years, it has been because the ruling class has been unwilling to abide by it. Everyone refused to comply.
Once the clan is excluded from the tax law, the tax collection by the tax collection hall will be nothing but a smoke and mirrors. In the end, how will the thousands of tax collection households released be recovered?
The Ming Dynasty belongs to your old Zhu family, and your old Zhu family doesn't pay taxes. Why do you want me to be a poor coolie and force you to pay taxes?
The reason why the Tax Inspection Institute is able to successfully audit taxes now is because His Majesty is the number one taxpayer in the world. Every year, Huangzhuang conducts a year-end audit, pays taxes, and obtains a written deed for tax payment. His Majesty even framed the deed. It was put in a glass display window and placed in the side hall of Wenhua Hall. You can clearly see it as soon as you enter the door.
There are a row of written deeds, twelve in total, showing the way His Majesty came.
The most common saying among thousands of tax collectors is: Even the emperor pays taxes, why don’t you?
Therefore, the reason why the tax audit can be carried out smoothly is because His Majesty, the Supreme Majesty, always insists on abiding by tax laws.
Even this group of clans, to His Majesty, are all poor begging relatives. Most of them have left the fifth service and built the Ten Kings City just for the sake of dignity, but the clan is still the ruling class.
"How about being vague?" Shen Li thought that he could activate the passivity of scholars and pretend to be confused while pretending to understand. This is what is written in the law, but the actual implementation is another matter.
Wang Guoguang immediately shook his head and said: "Then there is no need to amend the tax law."
When the issue was discussed here, the Wenyuan Pavilion became extremely silent. The four court officials read the struggle volume familiarly. At this time, they were all a little desperate. Zhang Juzheng objected to the third volume, and Feng Bao also opposed the third volume, because the third volume was The content of the volume is so desperate that all efforts seem to have become a futile struggle.
It seems that an inevitable ending appears in front of all the comrades who traveled with the Wanli Reform.
The broken shackles are put on again, the abandoned privileges are revived, the slave owner becomes the king again, and politics only cares about self-interest and taking turns to take charge;
Evil is always like a dark cloud, kindness is just an obstacle to progress, a bright tomorrow never comes, and everything in the Wanli Reform will be buried;
Is this the Wanli Restoration that Your Majesty wants? Is this what Ming Gong pursues to make Ming great again? Is this the inevitable fate of Ming Dynasty?
When will the darkness of thousands of years truly gain light? The lonely warrior is doomed to fall in a pool of his own blood.
"In the past, I always told Your Majesty that in order to overcome the difficulty of overcoming the end, what Ming scholars are best at is tearing all the good things into pieces and accumulating disappointment into despair." Zhang Juzheng said with a somewhat bitter look: "I I also reminded Your Majesty that now I have some waverings about the Wanli Reform.”
His Majesty is still fighting high, but the bachelors of Wenyuan Pavilion have become a little desperate, even a little disheartened.
In the end, the cabinet ministers failed to reach a conclusion through discussion and sent the issue of tax law revision to Tonghe Palace.
After Zhu Yijun read the memorial, he knew something was wrong and he had used too much force.
"Go to Wenyuan Pavilion." Zhu Yijun took the memorial and got on the small train parked in front of the door. The train took his Majesty to the front of Wenhua Palace with a rhythm, and the Emperor of Ming Dynasty was not there either. The ministers were announced to the Wenhua Palace, but he walked step by step into the Wenyuan Pavilion.
The cabinet ministers were particularly surprised by the emperor's arrival. They hurried out of their duties and bowed their heads and said: "See your majesty."
"No gifts, no gifts." Zhu Yijun looked around and flipped through the daily notes written by the people in the middle school to make sure they didn't say anything bad about him. He then looked at the slightly messy cabinet minister's desk and said with a smile: "I just came here to take a look. I have read the memorial you submitted."
"The clan must pay taxes!"
"I will not take this step back. If I take this step back, it won't be long before the Ming Dynasty will no longer be able to collect taxes and money."
"As for the issue Wang Cifu is worried about, if the clan violates the law, let's discuss it based on the eight principles. If the matter is not serious, you can be lenient and pardoned. If the matter is serious, then it will be punished by law."
Zhu Yijun gave his own method, going around in a circle. The clan must abide by the law, but it can go through the amnesty process. As for whether he is willing to grant amnesty, it depends on the emperor. As for whether he can amnesty, it depends on the strength of the imperial power and the power of ministers.
This step is already very, very difficult. If a clan violates the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they will become criminals. They can only be pardoned with the emperor's pardon. This is already a huge improvement in the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
His Majesty's pardon is not that easy to obtain, especially for these clans. Most of them have been out of the fifth server. If they want your Majesty's pardon, it depends on how close they are.
But it is worth noting that His Majesty the Emperor's pardon still violates the absolute fairness of Legalism. Going around this circle, the clan of the ruling class still enjoys judicial privileges.
"I see that you are extremely dissatisfied with what you said in the third volume. Let me just write the fourth volume." Zhu Yijun said with a smile.
Zhang Juzheng immediately said: "Forget it then."
As the author of the first two volumes of The Theory of Class, Zhang Juzheng knows very well what to write in the fourth volume. The third volume is about the must-fall of the Ming Dynasty, and the fourth volume is about the must-fall of the empire. In the land of the Central Plains, the must-fall of the empire can be solved. There are many contradictions, but there will also be new contradictions. Zhang Juzheng thought for a long time and thought that there might be a fifth volume.
The content of the fifth volume is also easy to speculate and then fight.
Generally speaking, the theory of class consists of these five volumes: class, distribution, struggle, feudalism, and re-struggle. This logic is perfect.
Although the fourth volume and the possible fifth volume are inevitable products of historical development.
If any theoretical system wants to gain widespread recognition, it must have greater vitality and creativity. It must adapt to the objective and subjective requirements of historical development before it can be widely used.
Therefore, a fairer theoretical system is inevitable for historical development.
However, Zhang Juzheng didn't want to see it. He didn't even particularly welcome the third volume. When His Majesty proposed the fourth volume, Zhang Juzheng suddenly felt that the third volume was not unacceptable.
In fact, the moment I saw Your Majesty, the despair of your Majesty gradually dissipated. These are all problems that Your Majesty has to worry about. The youngest of the old men is over sixty years old, and His Majesty is only twenty-four years old. My Lord, We only need to worry, but the emperor needs to face it.
Your Majesty is not afraid, let alone the old men.
"Actually, it's not a big deal. Let's just take care of it for now." Zhu Yijun walked around Wenyuan Pavilion and planned to leave. He didn't give any blood or make a long speech. He just told the reality in a matter-of-fact way.
People can only take care of current matters.
He must appear to give the Ming Dynasty enough certainty. He is the Dinghai Shenzhen of the Ming Dynasty. As long as he appears, he can bring enough confidence to people.
Since the appearance of the third volume, there have been some changes in the work done by the Ming Dynasty. Now doing things in an absolute manner has become the basic policy of the ultra-conservatives.
That's what extreme conservatives are like. They don't really believe in the wisdom of future generations. I have done what I can and have done everything. How long future generations can sustain depends on the fate of future generations. History has also proven that, Future generations may not be wise.
"It's not the Great Light Sect..." Zhu Yijun, who returned to Tonghe Palace, looked at the memorial in front of him with a complicated expression. Zhu Yijun's expression would be this complicated every time he mentioned the Great Light Sect.
On the one hand, the Great Guangming Sect has truly expanded the influence of the Ming Dynasty, but on the other hand, Zhu Yijun is more resistant to religion, even though the Great Guangming Sect has no god.
Legaz synthesized the information from many sailors and determined one thing, that is, there was internal strife among the saints. Thirteen of the twenty saints who had been consecrated died, and finally the Patriarch was formed. The Great Illumination Sect with Marion de Montmorency as its core.
The direct conflict occurred because there were huge differences within the Great Light Sect.
The seven saints, headed by Patriarch Marion, insisted on preaching with swords. This was inseparable from the environment of sword-fighting maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty. Marion eagerly hoped that the Great Light Sect would have its own weapons.
At this time, some of the more extreme believers of the Holy See launched targeted attacks on the wise men of the Great Illumination Sect. In order to survive, the Great Illumination Sect began to try to increase its armed forces.
The other thirteen saints did not agree with Marion's statement. They believed that if the Great Light Sect had its own armed forces and launched a counterattack, it would arouse the vigilance of the secular authorities, which would not be conducive to preaching and would easily intensify conflicts. , ultimately leading to the complete failure of the Great Light Sect.
The differences in line were extremely fatal. As the patriarch, Marion became a minority, and a palace coup against Marion began to take place.
In January of the 14th year of Wanli, Marion returned from France to the House of the Wise in the Free City of Cape Verde, and was attacked by the saints. Originally, Marion was bound to die in this premeditated attack, but unfortunately , Marion's father, sent her twenty personal guards to protect her safety.
After the bloody battle, Marion became the dictator of the Great Illuminati and quickly prepared the Freedom Knights.
"What is she going to do?" Zhu Yijun frowned and said: "The Freedom Knights have 12,000 people. She established them too quickly, and they don't have any territory or taxes. How can she support these freedom knights?" Group.”
Zhu Yijun's keen political sense detected the conspiracy, and the conflagration only took place in January. News of the formation of the Freedom Knights had already reached the Ming Dynasty, which was too fast.
Zhu Yijun set up the Beijing Camp, and it took him a year to have 10,000 available troops. It took more than three years of stumbles to straighten out the affairs of the Beijing Camp, and this was with Qi Jiguang.
Marion, why did you form a knighthood so quickly!
Feng Bao took out the memo and flipped it for a long time before saying: "Your Majesty, her surname is Montmorency. This surname comes from the Duke of Montmorency, Lord of Donville, and her father is the current field marshal of France, Languedo. "Governor"
"It all makes sense."
"What is she going to do?" Zhu Yijun took the memorandum and found out that the Ministry of Rites had already informed her of her identity (Chapter 642). Looking back now, this person's purpose in coming to Ming Dynasty was not pure. His superficial obedience was just for Obtain the identity of a saint of the Great Illumination Sect and gain greater influence to achieve your goals.
Feng Bao frowned and said, "Maybe she wants to be the queen, or her father wants to be the king of France?"
"Then that explains it, preaching with a sword is a lie." Zhu Yijun nodded with deep understanding. As soon as Feng Bao saw this posture, he knew that Marion had a big plan. However, no one in Taixi knew what Marion's purpose was. They thought she really planned to preach with a sword. This was a sign of political immaturity.
The most intuitive manifestation is that when eating with someone you don't deal with well, you must be absolutely vigilant and even be prepared to fight to the death. This is an inevitable basic quality since the Hongmen Banquet.
For example, it is recorded in the old Tang books: Jiancheng and Yuan Ji conspired to poison him and lured Taizong into the palace for a night banquet. Then Taizong was heartbroken and vomited blood for several liters. The king of Huai'an used his magical powers to help him return to the West Palace in embarrassment.
If Li Yuanji's princess Yang hadn't snitched on Li Shimin, Li Shimin might have died. So after the Xuanwumen Incident, Li Shimin was still a little sad about killing his brother Li Jiancheng, but the thought of killing Li Yuanji too made him fall asleep instantly. Had a peaceful sleep.
A negative example is the story that started the Japanese Warring States Period. Akamatsu Mitsuku, one of the four officials, entertained the Muromachi shogun Ashikaga Yoshitsune. Ashikaga Yoshitsugu went to the banquet without any warning, and was killed.
Another similar story is that Oda Nobunaga dared to enter the capital at Honnoji Temple with only a hundred or so guards around him, but was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide.
China's history is so long that for almost any political activity, you can find a corresponding game model in the long history. Although it may not necessarily have guiding significance, it must have reference significance.
This is why later Confucian scholars always said that there was no great righteousness after the Spring and Autumn Period, and they could even create an era of historical famine when no history was read.
In the early years of Wanli, scholar-bureaucrats often took pride in not reading history. Not reading history meant that they disdained those unjust acts. In fact, using history books could create political thresholds, similar to how the upper class in North Korea used Chinese and the lower class used Yanwen to create artificial barriers.
As a Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty, Liang Menglong had "never seen the whole history" until he went to the Hanlin Academy and became a disciple of Zhang Juzheng. He eagerly absorbed these historical materials in the Hanlin Academy.
Feng Bao also studied history. He looked at it for a long time. The things Marion did were a bit like Sima Yi who raised the dead soldiers. What role would this Freedom Knights play when France has no heir? , one can imagine.
Of course, this is all speculation, and more information is needed to further confirm the purpose of the Patriarch of the Great Illumination Sect.
The discussion between the Ming emperor and the internal minister is actually a very arrogant way of understanding. If you understand what happened in Taixi from the perspective of the Ming people, you will fall into this misunderstanding.
The emperor and the internal minister really thought too much and completely ignored the cruelty of the religious wars in Europe and the West, because the religious conflicts in the Ming Dynasty were not intense.
Marion didn't think much of it at all. The spread of the Great Illuminating Sect made the Holy See feel like it was in its throat, and it began to launch targeted attacks against the Great Illuminating Sect. The Great Illuminating Sect had to assemble its own armed forces to fight back, tit for tat.
The thing is that simple. All religious conflicts in Thailand and the West are likely to evolve into acts of war.
Marion had no such great ambitions towards the King of France.
In August of the 14th year of Wanli, the Ming Dynasty made a major personnel appointment. Governor-General Military Affairs Liang Menglong will be transferred back to the capital before the end of the year, and the new Governor-General Military Affairs Ling Yunyi is preparing to return to Beijing and take up his post in North Korea.
Liang Menglong wanted to return to the DPRK because he had to come back. Zhang Juzheng was the chief minister of the cabinet and had to deal with all the official affairs. He was really too busy. Moreover, after regaining Seoul and Inchon, North Korea also needed a murderous Ling Yun. Yi went to North Korea, and Ling Yunyi went to North Korea in order to clear the country, return the land, form an engineering corps camp, repair bridges and roads, and build official factories and iron smelting stations.
With such a sudden change, some remnants of the old era will become resistance. To be more clear, North Korea's civil and military classes will be overtaken. However, the middlemen, who mainly have children from concubines and concubines, are still a poison on the ground of North Korea and need to be eliminated physically.
Ling Yunyi finally left Henan, and Xu Xuemo, the governor of Yunyang, went to Henan to take over the unfinished business, mainly the Chidao from Kaifeng to Jiayuguan.
On August 29, Ling Yunyi's car arrived at Gujieyi in Liangxiang Town. This is the first post in the southwest of Beijing and the first stop on the Daming Jingchi Road. Ling Yunyi was towed by Shengping No. 4. Tiema's return to Beijing was a smooth one.
"This is much more comfortable than the long days of traveling and traveling in the past." Ling Yunyi stamped his feet and said to the left and right. He got out of the car, stood on the platform, looked at the four lanes of Gujieyi, and stretched. It is much more stable than a carriage.
"In the future, we will have Chidao everywhere in the Ming Dynasty. It will be so convenient for people to travel." Even Chengjun was filled with emotion. Since the Chidao from Kaifeng to Jingtang was built, it only takes a day and a half to go from Kaifeng to the capital. , it’s so convenient.
"Ling Yunyi! You are unkind. In the battle of Luoding, countless people were killed! Brutal people, thieves of the country!" A group of scholar-bureaucrats saw Ling Yunyi get out of the car and immediately wanted to surround him, shouting loudly.
"Behead those who advance! Retreat!" Chen Mo took out the blunderbuss in his hand and pointed it at the scholar-bureaucrat.
Several Tiqi quickly surrounded Ling Yunyi, and the remaining dozen Tiqi quickly set up defenses near the station to prevent any changes. Soon the crowd was divided into two parts, and the Tiqi protected Ling Yunyi behind them.
Most of the Tiqi were selected from the marquis far away from the pier, and their muskets were pointed at the crowd.
Chen Mo was the commander of the punishment. He brought a thousand households of the punishment to Henan to announce the decree. He did not take action in Henan. At the gate of the capital, he took out a fire blunderbuss. The blunderbuss was a flintlock hand blunderbuss. Already loaded.
The Ming army would not point their guns at the people easily, but Tiqi was not the same. Tiqi's duty was to obey His Majesty's orders.
The sudden change stopped all the scholar-officials who planned to denounce Ling Yunyi. Their expressions were different, but no one dared to take a real step. The scholar-officials had no doubt that Tiqi would take action.
The scholar-bureaucrats' denunciation of Ling Yunyi was an act of stepping on Ling Yunyi to gain reputation. Ling Yunyi had a bad reputation. The scholar-bureaucrats in the capital liked to scold Ling Yunyi for nothing. Obviously, these young scholar-bureaucrats came here for fame, not to die.
"Hey, Commander Chen, don't be so nervous. Put down the blunderbuss and let me listen to what they have to say." Ling Yunyi quickly analyzed the situation and laughed instead, signaling Tiqi not to be too nervous.
"What are you going to say?" Ling Yunyi looked at the leader curiously and asked with a smile: "What's your name?"
"I don't want to change my name, but I don't want to change my surname. That's the case with Zhang Shiwei! He is a Suzhou native and became a Jinshi in the 14th year of Wanli!" Zhang Shiwei replied loudly.
Ling Yunyi said with a smile on his face: "Oh, okay, I made a note of it. I will take you with me to North Korea this time."
"Ah?" Zhang Shiwei's eyes became dull.
He just came to make a name for himself, but he didn't expect to go to North Korea. North Korea is now a battlefield, and swords don't have eyesight. If you die, you will really die.
"I have to take a shower and change clothes now to go to the palace to meet the Saint. I don't have time to chat. The days are long. You can tell me your thoughts on our way there." Ling Yunyi waved his hand and left the station under the protection of Tiqi to go to the Huitong Pavilion.
Chen Mo looked back and saw the dumbfounded Zhang Shiwei still standing where he was.
Chen Mo thought about it for a while and felt that these scholars were indeed very vicious. Ling Yunyi and Feng Xiaoyu were even kind-hearted, but Zhang Shiwei not only did not gain fame, but got a hard job.
As expected, His Majesty's repeated warnings to be careful with scholars are right.
Yao Guangqi also did this thing at the beginning, and now he has become the king of kelp, and became the magistrate of Shanghai County, and became the Xunli of the Ming Dynasty.
"See you, your majesty. Long live your majesty. Long live your majesty. I have received the holy order to go to Qingzhang, Henan. Fortunately, I have lived up to my command." Ling Yunyi arrived at Tonghe Palace in the afternoon to meet the Holy Emperor.
"No need to be polite, sit down and talk." Zhu Yijun stretched out his hand to signal Ling Yunyi not to be polite. He said solemnly: "I heard that Ling Butang was blocked by scholar-bureaucrats when they arrived at Gujieyi? Send them to Liaodong to fill the big blisters. Son, is the right thing to do.”
Ling Yunyi hurriedly bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, they are all young people who were filled with indignation when they heard about the injustice and the evil reputation of the minister. They did not give way, but went to the station to block them. This is also a kind of courage. They just haven't come into contact with so many people. Only when you are in charge of general affairs will you feel that it is unkind.”
"I don't know the world, so I don't know that a woman's kindness for a moment is unkindness to others."
“They sympathized with the tragedy of the Yao people in Luoding, but they never thought about the suffering of the people who were rioted and looted by the Yao people; they heard the cries of the virtuous and wealthy gentry in Henan countryside, but did not hear the lamentations of the poor coolies against injustice, so they thought that the ministers were evil. ”
"I want to go to North Korea, and I happen to lack some Ming officials to accompany me. After all, North Korea is newly established and everything is new. More officials from the hinterland are needed to educate the people. When they really deal with these difficult things, they will understand that there is no such thing as perfect in the world. Law, everything is a matter of trade-off. ”
Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, and secretly became more vigilant towards civil servants. Look at how decent Ling Yunyi speaks, and how beautifully he speaks! It seemed that he was trying to excuse the scholar-officials and also found a job for them.
But let the scholar-bureaucrats who besieged Ling Yunyi choose, 99% of them would be willing to go to the Northeast to fill the big blisters, and they would not even think of working under Ling Yunyi!
North Korea is a battlefield, a newly opened land, and everything is renewed. It is too simple to die in North Korea without any reason.
By this time, these scholar-bureaucrats who surrounded Ling Yunyi could only count on Ling Yunyi's virtue.
"Okay, just follow what Ling Butang said." Zhu Yijun chose to agree. North Korea is short of officials.
"Your Majesty, I read the victory report of North Korea in the newspaper at my residence and found that Inchon is the key to North Korea. I am determined not to fall into the hands of others. With the ability of the Ming Dynasty army, they have been fighting in Incheon for so long. As long as an infantry camp is deployed in Incheon , you can control the entire North Korea." As the first Governor of North Korea, Ling Yunyi explained his views on North Korea.
It seems that Incheon is the place of the key and the throat. The Ming Dynasty garrisoned troops in Incheon. No matter how the situation changes in North Korea, the Ming Dynasty must listen to the words of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yijun said with certainty: "It is true. If the Japanese pirates were not anxious this time and Toda Katsutaka led 30,000 troops out of Seoul, I am afraid that Incheon and Seoul would not be able to solve the problem until winter."
Toda Katsutaka's plan was very good, but it was a pity that Qi Jiguang saw through it. Seoul's defense was empty, and Hashiba Hideyoshi had to rush to Seoul's aid. Incheon's defense exposed flaws, which eventually led to the overall collapse of the Incheon and Seoul defense lines.
Toda Katsutaka's plan can be implemented because waiting until winter means losing, so it is better to take a chance. For Japanese pirates, taking a chance is a common decision.
"Your Majesty, I am confused. Does Your Majesty still want to destroy the Japanese?" Ling Yunyi asked in a low voice. He was asking about His Majesty's intention, not what the Ming Dynasty meant.
Zhu Yijun said very solemnly: "Of course, I made a promise to Qi Shuai, and there is no way I can break my promise."
"Your Majesty, if we still want to destroy the Japanese, I think there is no need to rush the battle of Zhongzhou." Ling Yunyi immediately expressed his thoughts after hearing this. Destroying the Japanese is one way of fighting, and not destroying the Japanese is another way of fighting.
"Your Majesty, there is not much arable land in Chungju and Busan. If the Japanese pirates refuse to give up, they will continue to invest troops and transport grain and grass from the mainland to the Korean battlefield." Ling Yunyi said very calmly.
Meat grinder style.
Giving up Chungju and Busan means giving up the possibility of using North Korea as a springboard to attack the Ming Dynasty. Neither Oda Nobunaga nor Hashiba Hideyoshi could give up, but if they don't give up, they can only continue to invest the samurai and ashigaru into the Ming Dynasty. This battlefield is like a flesh and blood mill.
The most frightening thing is that it will further aggravate the food crisis in Japan.
Sometimes, allowing the enemy to surrender is also a kind of mercy.
(End of chapter)